Wednesday 8.13

RaleighCharles F. PriceQuail Ridge BooksAfter four historical fiction books concerning the Civil War and the years that followed, Charles F. Price set his sights 80 years earlier than usual for his new novel, Nor the Battle to the Strong. "Like most Southern boys, I was enamored with the Civil War," says Price. "But ever since 9/11, I've been looking back at our founding values and civil liberties and keep coming back to the Revolutionary War."

Price writes from the perspective of Maj. Gen. Nathanial Greene, a commander in the Southern Continental Army, as well as Pvt. James Johnson, an infantryman based on one of Price's father's ancestors, to give readers a contrasting but ultimately more complete view of the war. "One of the most interesting things about these times was that women and families accompanied the troops," he says. "The Army was a community, so the story is more than a macho war book as I got to write about the relationships these soldiers had with their sweethearts and wives."

Price's book tour has him moving out of the western part of the state he calls home and down into the Piedmont, and thus far he has found his audiences enjoy discussing the stories of the war. "I realized that many people, including myself, don't understand our own revolution," he says. The reading begins at 7:30 p.m. Jessica Fuller